W231 Applied Research Project Solving a Problem for a Local Business or Organization

The Problem Must Be…  An organizational problem, not a social problem or issue  Local, not global; narrow, not broad  Organization-centered, not “me- centered”

The Target Audience Must Be…  An individual, or at the most, a small group  A stakeholder  A decision-maker; someone with authority  Accessible, cooperative

Issues and Problems  Both refer to disagreeable situations that need to be addressed  Both refer to situations that have no obvious satisfactory answer  Both involve situations about which people might disagree

Distinguishing Problems and Issues  Solving a problem means dealing with an unacceptable situation  Solving a problem means deciding what action will change the situation for the best  Problems expressed as questions begin with “How can?” or “What are the ways?”  Resolving an issue involves debating a controversial subject  Resolving an issue means deciding what belief or viewpoint is the most reasonable  Issues expressed as questions begin with “Does?” Or “Should ?”

Finding a Topic  Brainstorm a list of all the groups, organizations, associations, clubs, etc., That you are affiliated with or interested in (e.g., your place of employment, this university, your child’s school)  Next to each organization, write down current problems they face  Match the problems to the criteria to see which ones would be workable for W231

Once you find a topic… Phrase it as a research question

The Research Question Must  Be open-ended; not a yes/no  Be dependent on primary research for a solution  Specific, narrow, well-defined  Begin with “How can….” Or “What are the ways…” or possibly, “Which”

Formulating a Preliminary Proposal  Choose one topic – the one that’s most appropriate for our W231 project  Follow the assignment guidelines (will be on Oncourse) to draft your memo  Create a topic-specific subject line  Send your memo via Course Mail to entire class  Read your classmate’s proposals

You will Form Teams Based On….  The proposal you found most interesting or most related to your major OR  The people with whom you would most like to work. The team then chooses the one topic (out of those proposed by team members) that seems most workable and most interesting.)

Overview of the Research Procedures  Go local—find out what has already been done at your target organization to address the problem by interviewing the target audience (primary research)  Go global— find out what other organizations have done to solve the problem by conducting library (secondary) research  Back to local—find out the opinions of those affected by the problem by conducting a survey (primary research)

The Secondary (Library) Research  Select topic  Phrase as a research question  Search the literature to discover what other organizations have done to address the problem  Synthesize what the authors say (literature review)

The Primary Research  Decide which ideas/solutions presented in the literature apply to the local situation your team is investigating.  Test ideas from the literature by getting opinions of those involved with the problem.  Decide the best way to gather those opinions – usually a survey.

Primary Research Data: Tabulate, Interpret, Conclude  You’ll create a questionnaire.  You’ll conduct the survey.  You’ll tabulate the results.  You’ll interpret the results.  You’ll draw conclusions.  You’ll create a visual based on key findings.

Finishing the Project  The team will put it all together— analyze findings from both the library research and the survey, draw conclusions, and make recommendations on the best solutions to the problem

The Products  A recommendation report  A brief PowerPoint presentation

BRAINSTORMING SESSION  Brainstorm a list of all the groups, organizations, associations, clubs, etc., you are affiliated with or interested in (e.g., your place of employment, this university, your child’s school, places you volunteer)  Next to each organization, write down current problems they face  Match the problems to the criteria to see which ones would be workable for W231